Blazing Earth by TERRI BRISBIN

Author:TERRI BRISBIN
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-02-22T17:38:03+00:00

* * *

Tolan remained part of the earth until they left the area. They rode past his house without pausing and did not stop along the way back to Amesbury. Wanting to ensure Thea’s safety, he took no chances. Once he felt them arrive at the keep, he moved through the ground, almost as he moved when swimming in the river or a lake.

Under the ring of trees that seemed to ease as he passed them. He could feel Thea in the middle of it and went toward her, until that voice spoke to him once again.

I wait for you, Earthblood. Come to me now.

It was difficult to resist the draw of her, so he let himself follow along, deeper and deeper and farther into the center of the circle. Until he reached that black place and could go no farther.

Find a way to release me. The sunblood will help. Ask my faithful. You must free me from this prison.

Tolan stopped, listening and trying to locate the one speaking. They were behind this barrier, and as he spread out through the ground, he could not find a breach in it. Then he felt Thea’s distress and went to her immediately.

He rose from the soil, and her face lost all its color. As he moved forward, he realized that he yet remained part of the earth. With each step, he pulled his human body back into form and finally stood before her a man. Now, though, his vision was tinged green around the edges of it.

“You resemble him,” she said, her voice trembling. “But I know it’s you, Tolan.”

“Whom do I look like?” he asked, holding out his hand to her. He could feel her trying to control her fear. “What happened to you?”

“I . . . saw . . .”

He caught her just before she crumpled, lifting her in his arms and carrying her out through the trees until they reached beyond the embankment. He knelt and placed her on the ground and sat with her head on his lap. Touching her cheek, he found it cold and clammy now.

“Thea,” he said softly while stroking her cheek. Her eyes fluttered while closed and then she opened them, staring in confusion at him.

She reached up and touched his cheek, stroking it as he had hers. “You . . . changed.”

“Aye. And you fainted. Inside the trees.”

When Thea shifted to sit up, he placed his hand across her to keep her there. She might be awake, but her color was pale.

“Just tell me what happened,” he said. She relented and lay back against him. Holding her felt right. Protecting her did as well.

“The trees led me inside, to the clearing,” she began. “I do not understand how it is so huge there and yet none of it can be seen from out here.”

“Nor I,” he agreed. He took her hand and entwined their fingers. “And then?”

“I walked around it, looking for anything, a sign of something. And I found a stone, about the size of my hand, and picked it up.

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